Original Oil on Paper by Geoffrey C. Smith, 2024
36"w x 24"h
 
This is not a peaceful painting. It is a painting of defiance—a bull moose moving through a world on the brink. Geoffrey C. Smith created The Last Stand as part of his World on Fire series, using vivid palette-knife strokes and saturated color to convey a moment that feels urgent, wild, and nearly consumed by heat.
 
Moose are giants of the North. Smith has observed them at full height in Alaska’s forests—antlers like open hands, shoulders as high as a horse’s back. They carry power, but also something deeper: presence. They are felt before they are seen; their breath rustles through the brush, a sound that now feels heavier in a warming world.
 
Rising temperatures are reshaping their habitat. The seasonal rhythms they depend on—cool summers, wet lowlands, and dense willow cover—are shifting rapidly. Smith painted this moose as both creature and metaphor: not retreating, but standing tall, holding his ground against the encroaching fire.
 
The palette burns with intensity—reds, oranges, and golds erupt across the canvas—while cooler tones define the animal’s form, anchoring him amid chaos. He stands as the calm within the blaze, an emblem of endurance and unyielding strength in a changing world.
 
In World on Fire Solo Exhibit 2025